School Board Update
December 26, 2019
Meeting Overview
Newly Approved Policies
- Policy 101.2 - Naming of School District Sites and Facilities
- Policy 410 - Family and Medical Leave Policy
- Policy 506 – Student Discipline
- Policy 514 – Bullying Prohibition Policy
- Policy 522 – Student Sex Nondiscrimination
- Policy 524 – Internet Acceptable Use and Safety Policy
Additional Items Approved by the Board
- 2019-2021 Education Minnesota Cambridge-Isanti Contract
- 2019-2021 Principal Contract
- 2019-2021 Terms and Conditions Agreement
- 2020-2021 CIHS Course Guide
- 2020-2023 Superintendent Contract
- 2020 CIHS Robotics Trip to Duluth, Minnesota
- Acceptance of Gifts and Donations - thank you to our community!
- Final 2019 Payable 2020 Property Tax Levy
- Memorandum of Understanding between C-I Schools and Education Minnesota
Full board agenda can be found here
School Board Showcase - Cambridge Middle School
The Cambridge Middle School Showcase was presented by Principal Chad Gerlach along with teachers and students from Cambridge Middle School. CMS provides career exploration opportunities to help students discover their career interests early in their education. Students presented to the board members the knowledge they gained in Career Exploration, Green Architecture, and 21st Century Technology.The full presentation can be found here.
It's a GREAT day to be a Bluejacket!
Superintendent's Report - Dr. Rudolph
A Season of Compassion - The Bluejacket Way
In this week’s newspapers, I wrote about the importance of showing compassion at all times, but especially during the holiday season. As we know, this time of the year can be exciting and challenging at the same time. The holiday season can also cause a variety of emotions for folks. Our article outlined some of the amazing acts of compassion and generosity that our students and staff provide for others this time of the year. It also speaks to the importance of connection and support for one another. I am hoping that everyone will be able to take some time over the holiday break to pause, reflect, show compassion, and support one another. It IS The Bluejacket Way!
Administration Report Highlights
REPORT FROM: ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES and HUMAN RESOURCES
by: Julia Lines
Insurance Committee
The Insurance Committee team is watching our reserve funds carefully and monitoring claims. So far this plan year is off to a great start, our medical claims are down $131,000 compared to this time last year. Our reserve growth is at $836,000 compared to $699,000 at this time last year. We are also working on the HealthJoy app rollout which we hope will help members understand and access their benefits. Dental reserves are still running slightly negative, which we expected after increasing coverage a couple years ago while keeping rates static.
Wellness Committee
We are in the second month of our Passport to Wellness initiative. November was financial wellness and the focus of December is mental wellbeing, employees who complete at least 7 of the 11 tasks will earn $10 in Chamber Bucks to be spent at local businesses. This effort is fully funded by our wellness dollars received from Preferred One. December’s focus was very intentional as this month can be filled with joy and social festivities, but it can also be a trying time for many. One of the items in the December task list is to visit the Employee Assistant Program website and look at the available free resources.
REPORT FROM: FINANCE AND OPERATIONS
by: Christopher Kampa, CFA
Finance
We presented the proposed levy at the Truth in Taxation meeting held jointly with Isanti County and the City of Cambridge on December 3rd. At that meeting, we informed the public that the Minnesota Department of Education (“MDE”) was still working on the final levy amount. MDE was considering two options, so we conservatively presented the higher amount - a 6.5% levy increase. This week MDE informed us that they have decided on the lower option, which only represents a 3.5% increase. If the School Board approves, we will certify the final levy and submit to MDE and the State of Minnesota.
We are also nearing completion on the audit. Our staff has been working hard and putting in a lot of extra hours to ensure a successful audit for Cambridge-Isanti Schools, and for the two cooperatives where we serve as Fiscal Host (ECMECC and Oakland Learning Cooperative). We are pleased to report that there are no major findings. We will share the final audit at the next Finance Committee meeting and regular January School Board meeting.
Food Services
Food service has a number of unique challenges during the holidays, mainly in scheduling deliveries on or around days where buildings are closed. We are interviewing candidates for a few open positions and looking forward to the winter break.
Transportation
We have experienced colder-than-normal weather in this early winter so we have taken extra precautions to ensure our busses are able to start on these chilly mornings. We will have a few open routes to start the new year so we are juggling staff and applicants to make sure those positions are filled.
Building & Grounds
We are fast approaching the winter holiday season and will very soon be into the New Year. Our Custodial and Grounds staff continue to do outstanding work. Mother Nature has given us a healthy dose of snow and cold weather, but the staff continues to shine. As we move into our icy and heavy salting seasons, the staff will be out on the grounds putting down the necessary amount of salt and sand to help prevent any slips, trips, or falls. On the flip side of this, it calls for more cleaning inside of our buildings, which requires additional time given our reduced staff. Please feel free to reach out with any questions and or concerns.
New Facility
The new building finally has a name: Cambridge-Isanti Woodland Campus! The name was chosen by our students. The use of the term campus is a great descriptor as the building will play host to three programs: level IV special education, Riverside alternative learning center, and our moving forward program. Construction is moving rapidly. The building is now enclosed and is ready for heat. Exterior walls are in place and contractors are currently finishing up the roofing. Concrete for the flooring will poured shortly. We are slightly ahead of the construction schedule and we are cautiously optimistic that the total cost will come in under budget.
REPORT FROM: COMMUNITY EDUCATION
by: Dave Maurer
Preschool enrollment continues to increase. We will have 415 students enrolled in January. This is the highest enrollment we have ever had.
The Winter brochure was mailed to homes the week of December 9. With many new offerings, registrations are coming in and some classes are already filling.
REPORT FROM: TEACHING & LEARNING
by: Dr. Brenda Damiani
Technology
The District Tech Advisory Committee met on 12/17/19, during this meeting, the committee was informed of the need to migrate our current website from its Drupal 7 platform due to the end of security updates for that platform. There are 4 options that were considered: migrate from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8, migrate from Drupal 7 to WordPress, migrate to a vendor hosted site, or migrate to the New Google Sites. Through much discussion and evaluation of pros and cons of each option, the committee is recommending that we develop our migrated website in the New Google Sites environment. The development of this will be done by a team consisting of James Klimek, Michael Porta, and Ray Sperl. The timeline for this is to have the site mockups created by the Feb. 4th District Tech Advisory meeting for initial feedback from the committee.
The Woodland Campus ERATE 470 application for internet services and for network equipment is in its final stages of development prior to certification and submission to USAC. This will save us up to 60% on the internet connection, service, and switches for the facility.
Data & Assessment
Over the last month, we have been working on syncing Skyward data to Tableau, our data visualization tool. With the data synced, we are able to start building specific dashboards for each building. A dashboard is a series of charts, graphs or tables that represent specific data. For example, one of the priority dashboards for each building is a school goals dashboard. This dashboard would include data to measure if we are on track to meet each specific goals. These dashboards will be automatically updated each evening. Upcoming assessments: end of January is state ACCESS testing for English Learner students.
Federal Programs
We submitted the updated American Indian Education Program Plan (IEPP) budget, parent committee roster and signed certification statement this week and begin working with the ADSIS Interventionists on the mid-year report due to the Department of Education at the end of January. Working with our Minnesota Reading Corps members to get assessment fidelity checks (ORRA’s) completed before the break so they are ready to assess students for services after the break. Meeting with ELL and Title Interventionists at the end of the week to evaluate instructional strategies, student achievement to date and modify instruction as needed.
Curriculum
Middle School math curriculum has piloted three separate math programs over the last four trimesters. After careful consideration of those three programs, the math team has recommended the adoption of Pearson EnVision math for the 2020-21 school year. The team took part in a training on the Pearson EnVision program on Friday, December 13 and will begin to transition to full implementation for the 2020-21 school year. We will be planning for this transition and look forward to updating the school board in January.
REPORT FROM: STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
by: Julie Williams
Special Education - Level IV Update
Planning has continued throughout the year for the anticipated opening of the new level IV program in the fall. Discussions related to training, staffing and resources have been ongoing as we develop a timeline for implementation. Positions will be posted in January (with a July 1 start) to get a jump start on building our teacher staff group. I met with a group from Rum River Coop to look at current C-I students attending Rum River programs and what their transition needs are. We have a plan in place for students who are staying and/or transitioning to our new program.
Special Education - Corrective Action Plans Update
Staff are working hard at making the necessary corrections as outlined in the MDE Review. I have conducted further trainings and documentation for several of our corrective action plans. We now have 4 out of 12 of our corrective action plans approved.
Nursing Services
We are planning to partner with the MN School Sealant Program (https://www.schoolsealants.com/) this year to offer preventative dental services to children grades K-6. A licensed dental professional will be offering cleanings, sealants and fluoride varnishes to students. If students have dental insurance they will receive these services free of charge and families will not see a bill for service. By preventing decay, students are less likely to experience toothaches and dental pain.
This is a state initiative that schools are being highly encouraged to participate in. There is no fees to schools or families and any liability is covered by the MN Sealant Program. We are working to schedule this for the spring and will share the date and further information with schools and families. This is a great opportunity for our families as we look at ways to provide resources that encompasses more than just learning!
Contact Us
Email: dist-communications@c-ischools.org
Website: c-ischools.org
Location: 625 Main Street North, Cambridge, MN, USA
Phone: 763-689-6188